


the thought of you keeps me warm.

by doctorkaitlyn



Series: tumblr fics & ficlets. [11]
Category: Teen Wolf (TV)
Genre: 5+1 Things, Alternate Universe - College/University, F/F, Femslash February, Femslash February Trope Bingo, Fluff, Getting Together, Minor Allison Argent/Lydia Martin, Sexual Content
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-02-28
Updated: 2015-02-28
Packaged: 2018-03-15 16:21:44
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,144
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3453878
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/doctorkaitlyn/pseuds/doctorkaitlyn
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>The first time Kira sees Malia, it's two in the morning and Kira has just been sexiled by her roommate.</p><p>Based off the AU prompt "both stuck in the dorm common room because their respective roommates needed 'alone time.'”</p>
            </blockquote>





	the thought of you keeps me warm.

**Author's Note:**

> my final work for femslash february, written for the 'five things' square on my trope bingo card!
> 
> title from [Come to Light](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EdfRVGAjNTw) by Arkells.

**i.**

Kira is absolutely _exhausted._

She's been in the library for twelve hours, studying for two upcoming midterms. It's been a productive day but it's now two in the morning and as she shuffles back to her dorm room, she feels like she might fall asleep on her feet. The only good thing is that her bed, small and hard as it may be, is almost within sight.

But when she tries the door of her room, it's locked. She isn't quite sure where she put her keys after she used them to get into the building and as she's rummaging through her jacket pockets, she hears a click. That's followed by the door of her room opening just wide enough for Kira to see her roommate Lydia.

"Hey Kira," Lydia says, sounding a little out of breath. "We thought you were going to be gone a little longer."

"The library closed," Kira answers. Tired as she is, she can't help but grin a little. Between Lydia's rumpled hair and the sheet that's wrapped around her, it's obvious what she was up to before Kira knocked.

"I can leave, if you wanna get some sleep," Lydia's girlfriend says from the other side of the door.

"No, it's fine," Kira says. "I'll, um, let you finish up. Just let me know when you're done."

"I owe you," Lydia says, flashing Kira a massive grin and closing the door again. It isn't the first time Kira has been exiled from her room so that Lydia and her girlfriend could have some alone time, and she isn't too bothered by it. But still, some sleep would _really_ be nice.

Going back to the library isn't an option so instead, she heads to the dorm common room. The place is usually packed during the day but it's nearly empty now. There are two people sitting on one of the ragged sofas, watching something on a laptop. Another boy that Kira vaguely recognizes is sprawled on another couch, asleep with notes scattered across his lap and legs. On the other side of the room, there's a girl sitting in an overstuffed armchair. Kira doesn't recognize her at all. She's wearing shorts and a loose t-shirt and she has her hands shoved into her long, dark blonde hair, holding it away from her face. There's a textbook open in her lap and she's full on glaring at the book, like it's committed some horrible sin.

Kira thinks about crossing the room to ask the girl if there's any way that she can help, but after a few moments, she reconsiders. The girl doesn't look like she wants to be bothered and besides, Kira has a hard enough time starting conversations with strangers when she _isn't_ exhausted. So instead, she plunks down in one of the other armchairs and pulls some of her notes out of her backpack.

She hopes that she won't have to wait too long before she can sleep but, at the least, she can get some more studying done in the meantime.

The next thing she knows, someone is gently shaking her awake. When she opens her eyes, Lydia's girlfriend Allison is standing in front of her, smiling a bit bashfully.

"What time is it?" Kira asks, burying a yawn into the back of her hand.

"Just after four," Allison says. "I'm sorry, we got a little bit distracted."

"It's fine," Kira assures, flashing a quick smile. "I'm glad you two had fun." Allison blushes and mumbles a goodbye, heading back to her own room. Once she leaves, Kira starts packing up again, gathering up her notes from the floor. When she looks up, she realizes that the common room is completely empty, aside from the girl who had been glaring at her book earlier. She's asleep, curled up with her head on the chair's armrest and her hair over her face. Her textbook is on the floor and when Kira walks by, she quickly glimpses at the cover.

 _Vector Calculus._ Kira could definitely understand why someone would glare at _that_ textbook.

**ii.**

The common room has been turned into a makeshift movie theater; there's popcorn and candy scattered over every surface and the latest Marvel movie is playing on a television carted out from someone's room. Kira knows that she should be working on some of her assignments but she thinks that she deserves a reward for making it through two back-to-back midterms. While every couch and chair is already occupied, there are a few spots on the floor at the back of the room. It's only after she's sat down that Kira realizes the girl from the other night is sitting beside her. She doesn't have a textbook with her this time but she's still frowning, arms crossed over her chest. 

"Not a fan?" Kira asks after a few moments. The girl shakes her head.

"No. I haven't seen any of the other prequels, so I don't know what's going on. But my roommate's having sex with her boyfriend and I don't feel like sitting in the library. At least there's food here."

"Oh," Kira says. "Is that why you were out here the other night?"

"Tuesday? Yeah." After a moment, the girl turns and narrows her eyes slightly.

"Wait, how did you know that?"

"I wasn't spying on you or anything!" Kira hurriedly says, earning herself a hissed shush from someone nearby. "But my roommate was having, um, alone time with her girlfriend. So I came out here too."

"Oh." After a few moments of awkward silence, the girl grabs a bag of candy from beside her and holds it towards Kira.

"Want some?" Her frown has twisted into something _almost_ resembling a smile. Kira smiles back at her and grabs a few pieces of candy, feeling sugar immediately coat the tips of her fingers.

"I'm Kira, by the way," she murmurs, trying to pay attention to both the movie and the girl.

"Malia," the girl answers. Someone shushes them again but this time, Malia glares in the person's direction. She even bares her teeth. By the time she turns back to Kira, that strange half-smile is back on her face.

"More candy?" she asks, as if nothing had happened.

When the movie comes to an end, Malia pulls her phone from the pocket of her denim shorts and furrows her brow as she taps at the screen.

"Apparently I can go back to my room now," she says. "But I'll probably see you soon. I spend a _lot_ of time out here."

"Okay," Kira says, flashing Malia another smile. Just as the other girl gets to her feet, a thought pops into Kira's head.

"If you ever want to watch the other movies, I have them," she blurts. "I mean, in case you wanted to know what the fuss was about." Malia stays quiet for a minute but finally, she smiles again. This time, it even reaches her eyes.

"Okay," she says with a nod. "That could be fun."

**iii.**

It's not an offer that Kira ever expects Malia to take her up on. When she looks back on it, she's actually embarrassed that she said anything. In the dorms, asking someone to watch a movie with you is just a veiled way of asking them if they want to hook up. That wasn't what Kira had meant, not at all, but the more she thinks about what she said, the more she regrets it. 

Sure, Malia's smile _had_ looked genuine but as the days go by, Kira becomes more and more convinced that the other girl was just trying to be polite.

A week passes before she's jerked from her studying by someone pounding on their door. Lydia's sitting at her desk, so focused on a paper that she doesn't even move, so Kira slides back from her desk to answer the door. She doesn't know who she expected to be knocking at ten o'clock at night, but it _definitely_ wasn't Malia. She looks cozy, in sweatpants and a long-sleeved shirt, but she's frowning again.

"Hi!" Kira says. "What's up?"

"I was gonna come over a few days ago, but I had no idea which room was yours," Malia replies. Kira can feel her cheeks burning; in all the time she spent worrying that she might have offended the other girl, she never realized that she completely forgot to tell Malia where she lived.

"Sorry. Probably should have mentioned that."

"It's fine," Malia shrugs. "I just knocked on a bunch of doors until I found someone that knew you."

"Oh!" Kira says. She's surprised that Malia went through so much trouble just to find her. That thought does wonders at quieting the uncertainties that have been plaguing her for the last week. "Well, now you know where to find me!"

"Did you want to watch a movie together?" Malia asks. It's blunter than Kira expected, but she's glad that Malia got right to the point; otherwise, she's pretty sure that she would have just floundered and ended up embarrassing them both. "I came back from the gym and my roommate had a sock on our door, so I'm not going back there for a few hours."

"Sure! Did you have anything in mind?"

"You pick. I'll meet you in the common room, I left my gym stuff there and I don't want anyone to steal it."

When Kira closes the door, Lydia spins around in her chair and raises an eyebrow at her.

"Who was that?" 

"A girl I met the other day," Kira answers, trying to sound as casual as possible. "She wants to watch a movie together."

" _Actually_ watch a movie?" Lydia asks with a smirk.

"Yes Lydia, actually watch a movie, in the common room, not like how you and Allison watch movies." Lydia just grins at her before she spins back around.

"Either way, be safe!"

By the time Kira gets out to the common room with her laptop, a movie and a bag of her favorite candy, Malia has secured an entire couch for them. She's even pulled over a table and while Kira sets the movie up, Malia opens the candy. The couch is big but in order for them both to watch the movie on Kira's laptop, they have to sit close. When she passes Malia an earbud, Kira realizes that she can smell Malia's shampoo. It smells like mint and it smells really _good_ , but that is _not_ something Kira wants to say out loud.

"Let me know if you don't like it," she says instead, pressing play. "I can go get a different one."

"I'm sure it'll be fine," Malia says. "I'll try not to ask too many questions."

"Ask away!" Kira says. "I'll do my best to answer them." The look Malia gives her is strange; it's almost like _relief_ , followed by another one of her closed-mouth smiles. It's an adorable look and Kira forces herself to turn back to the computer before she blurts out something else.

Malia does ask a few questions but they're quick and easy to answer. Mainly, she just watches intently, popping pieces of candy into her mouth without taking her eyes off the screen. Kira's attention isn't so rapt; as much as she loves the movie, she's seen it a dozen times. Instead, she spends most of her time glancing at Malia out of the corner of her eye.

There's no doubting that Malia is pretty and has a cute smile, but she also has an adorable laugh. It's loud and unashamed but every single time, she momentarily covers her mouth, like she's trying to shove the noise back in. Whether it's by accident or design, she's also moved closer to Kira. They started out separated by a foot of space, as far apart as the headphones would let them be, but by the time the movie reaches its climatic action scene, their knees are pressing together. Every time Malia moves, Kira feels her cheeks grow warm.

Kira recognizes the feeling in her brain, recognizes the way that she keeps catching herself smiling whenever Malia does. This is definitely the beginning of a crush.

"What did you think?" she asks as the closing credits begin to roll. Malia stays quiet for a few moments, eyes still on the screen. But then, she turns slightly, brown eyes wide, smiling from ear to ear.

"Do you have the next one?"

**iv.**

They settle into a routine after that. Every few days, Malia pounds on Kira's door and, if Kira isn't too busy, she packs up her laptop, tries not to blush at Lydia's glib comments, and meets Malia in the common room. Malia always brings candy or popcorn for them to share and as soon as they sit down, Malia shifts over until they're touching from shoulder to hip. She definitely doesn't do it accidentally and it _definitely_ makes Kira blush, but she dares not read too far into it. 

In only a few weeks, they breeze through Kira's entire movie collection. They move on to her TV boxsets after that. There are some days where they stay out in the common room until two or three in the morning, saying that they'll only watch one more episode before they call it a night. There's even been a few times where Kira has woken up at five in the morning with her head cradled against Malia's shoulder, computer long forgotten.

Needless to say, her crush has shown no signs of dissipating.

A few weeks before exams, Kira comes back from one of her evening classes to find a scarf tied around her doorknob. It doesn't come as a complete surprise; it's Allison and Lydia's anniversary, and Lydia _had_ insinuated that their plans for the evening involved more than a date.

As she's walking towards the common room, an idea pops into her head. She knows that if she mulls it over too long, she'll over think it so instead of continuing towards the common room, she turns down the hallway that leads to Malia's room. Kira's had the other girl's phone number for a few weeks, but Malia has a propensity for not answering text messages until days after the fact. It's just easier to knock on her door, even if doing that always makes Kira buzz with nervousness.

She's hardly rapped her knuckles against the door when it flies open. Malia looks like she was getting ready for bed; her hair is pulled back into a messy ponytail and there's not a stitch of makeup on her face.

Kira thinks that she looks beautiful, but she also can't help but feel that she's intruding on something.

"I'm sorry," she blurts out. "Were you going to sleep?"

"No," Malia snorts. "I didn't have class today, so I never got dressed. Did you get sexiled again?"

"Yeah. My roommate and her girlfriend are celebrating their anniversary today. I have no idea when they'll be done," Kira says. "Are you busy?"

"Not with anything important." It's the same thing Malia has said to her every time Kira has asked that question and, in response, Kira grins.

"Did you want to go grab something to eat, then?" she asks, before she completely loses her nerve. "I don't have my laptop with me, so we can't really watch any movies-"

"I'm _starving_ ," Malia interrupts and, on cue, her stomach growls. "Besides, I don't know if I'm in a movie mood tonight. But I wanna hang out. Just give me five minutes, okay?"

"Okay," Kira says. Malia flashes her a smile and as soon as she closes the door, Kira sighs with relief and leans against the wall, letting her eyes drop closed. It's the first time that she's asked Malia to do more than watch a movie with her, for fear of it coming across the wrong way.

If she'd known that Malia would have reacted with such interest, she would have asked _weeks_ ago.

"So, where are we going?" Malia asks when she opens the door again, having swapped out her pajama shorts for a bright orange denim pair.

"There's a place just off campus that has some pretty good pizza, if that's okay," Kira says. Malia's face lights up like she's won the lottery.

"Kira, you're a genius."

They eat their slices at a tiny, rickety table at the front of the restaurant. It's a perfect spot for people watching, but Kira can hardly tear her eyes away from the beautiful girl sitting across from her.

"Man, pizza is one of my favorite things," Malia mumbles, wiping at her mouth with a napkin.

"What are your other favorite things?" Kira asks. She means as nothing more than a light conversation starter, but Malia doesn't answer for a long time. She continues to take bites of her pizza but there's a look on her face like she's seriously thinking about something.

"Chocolate," she finally says, licking a smear of sauce away from the corner of her mouth. "Summer. Sleeping in. You. Classes being canceled. I don't know, I like a lot of stuff."

"Me?" Kira says, her face burning red. When Malia nods and smiles, Kira feels her stomach fill up with butterflies.

"Yeah. You."

Kira is fairly certain that she doesn't stop grinning until she falls asleep later that night.

**v.**

That Friday, Kira voluntarily exiles herself from her room. It's not because of sex this time; while they're just laying around and talking, Lydia gets a Skype call from her dad. Before she can say anything, Kira just smiles and grabs some work from her desk. 

"Take your time. I know you haven't talked to him in awhile."

"You're the best," Lydia says, flashing a smile over her shoulder before she accepts the call.

While the common room is packed, it's quiet. There are a few people who look like they're watching something on their computer but the rest are pouring over textbooks or sifting through pages of notes. Kira doesn't plan on staying long so she grabs a seat on the floor. She has an essay due in a few days that she has yet to start so she starts brainstorming a few possibilities. She's just decided on an idea when something taps her foot and she jumps. She looks up to find Malia standing in front of her, hair damp and cascading down her shoulders, gym bag slung over her shoulders.

"Guess whose roommate is gone all weekend?" she says, grinning widely.

"Yours?" Kira asks, tucking her notes back into her binder.

"Yep. Got the whole room to myself for once. Are you busy?"

"Nope! Just giving Lydia some privacy. Not because of that!" she hurriedly adds, in response to Malia's raised eyebrow. "She's just talking to her dad."

"Oh. Well, that's good." Malia extends her hand and Kira accepts it, pulling herself up. Even after a few moments, Malia doesn't move her hand away and, taking a deep breath, Kira squeezes it gently. When she flicks her eyes up, she's happy to see that Malia is still smiling at her. She squeezes back before she pulls away, catching her gym bag as it falls off her shoulder.

"I bought some movies the other day," she says, leading the way towards her room. "We can watch one, if you want."

"That would be nice," Kira says. Her heart feels like it's thudding a mile a minute. Even though their friendship has existed for almost two months, she's never actually been in Malia's room. The thought that they'll be completely alone together, even if it's just to watch a movie, makes her feel giddy and nervous, all at the same time.

"Sorry about the mess," Malia says once they step inside. "I'm not exactly a neat freak."

"Trust me, I've seen worse," Kira laughs. The room really isn't that bad; sure, it's hard to see the carpet underneath all the clothes that are strewn across the floor, but it isn't like there's dirty dishes or mouldering takeout containers sitting on every surface. "One of Lydia's friends spilled a beer on his carpet right after he moved in and it ended up going moldy."

"That's disgusting," Malia answers, wrinkling her nose as she pushes more clothes off her bed.

"Yeah. I think he had to pay to have the carpet replaced too." There's a small stack of movies, all still wrapped in plastic, sitting on Malia's desk. While Kira recognizes all the titles, there's a few that she hasn't seen yet. She grabs one from the top of the stack and when she turns around, Malia is sitting on the edge of her bed, bottom lip sucked between her teeth.

"Are you okay?" Kira asks, sitting down beside her. "I can leave, if you want."

"Can I kiss you?" Malia blurts, twisting so that she's facing Kira. For a few moments, all Kira can do is blink. She _knows_ that she heard Malia correctly but it still feels too good to be true. Even after their conversation at the pizza place, she didn't dare imagine that things would ever go this far. Finally, she nods and scoots closer, until their knees are pressed together.

"Can I kiss you back?" Malia nods and smiles. It's a sight that Kira doesn't think she'll ever get sick of.

Malia moves in first. She softly presses her lips against Kira's, fingers brushing along the inside of Kira's wrist. Kira moves her hand so that she can tangle their fingers together and she returns the kiss, letting her eyes drop closed. The next kiss is a little harder, more than a mere brush of lips. The one after that ends with Malia gently nipping at Kira's bottom lip and Kira can't help but moan quietly.

"I still want to watch a movie with you," Malia says, squeezing Kira's hand tightly. "Is that okay?"

"Yeah," Kira murmurs, grinning ear to ear. "We can always kiss more later."

"I really like that idea," Malia answers, pressing another kiss to the corner of Kira's mouth.

As it turns out, another twenty minutes pass before they actually get around to starting the movie.

**i.**

Thanks to a few all-nighters and a frightening amount of coffee, Kira gets through her exams feeling fairly confident about her grades. Christmas is right around the corner and while she's definitely excited to see her family, there are still a few things she needs to do before she heads back home. 

Every single one of those things involves Malia.

"What time is Lydia supposed to come back?" Malia asks between pressing hard kisses down Kira's neck and over her collarbone.

"She said she'd be gone for awhile," Kira pants. Their shirts and bras have been long discarded and when Malia's tongue brushes over her nipple, Kira moans and pushes her fingers into Malia's long hair.

"Good," Malia murmurs, grinning up at Kira in a way that makes Kira feel like she's going to dissolve into the mattress. She flicks her tongue against Kira's nipple again before she starts moving lower, leaving kisses along Kira's ribs and the curve of her hips. After that, she doesn't tease; she curls her fingers into Kira's waistband and tugs down both her skirt and underwear. They end up on the floor with the rest of their clothes and when Malia's mouth brushes against her clit, Kira gasps loudly and grasps at her sheets with the hand not tangled in Malia's hair.

A few moments later, just after Malia slides one of her fingers into Kira's body, Kira hears the jingle of keys right outside the door.

"Lydia?" she asks, grabbing her blanket and tossing it over Malia's head. It comes out way louder than she intends, more of a shout than anything, but she's having a hard time controlling her volume.

"Kira, are you okay?"

"Yes!" Kira says, just as the door begins to creak open. "But it's not exactly a good time."

" _Oh_." Kira just knows that Lydia's smirking on the other side of the door. "Okay! Let me know when you're done."

"Will do!" Kira says, unable to stop her voice from going embarrassingly high-pitched. Once the door clicks shut again, Malia shoves the blanket away and sits up.

"Are you okay?" she asks, frowning slightly. Kira nods quickly and tries to give Malia her best reassuring smile.

"I'm great,” she murmurs, pushing a lock of hair away from Malia's face. “We should have put something on the door."

"Yeah, maybe," Malia shrugs. "No point in doing it now though. Too busy." With that, she drops back down and flattens her tongue against Kira again, thumbs tracing circles along the inside of Kira's thighs.

Kira definitely agrees with her; she is _not_ getting up anytime soon, not even to tie a scarf around her doorknob.

**Author's Note:**

> as always, I can be found on [tumblr.](http://banshee-cheekbones.tumblr.com/) :)


End file.
